Any citizen may file an application under the Right to Information Act 2005 to the public information officer of the public authority that holds the record, asking for information the authority holds - documents, files, records, notes, samples - not opinions or the reasons for a decision. The application is filed with the prescribed fee, the information officer must dispose of it within the time the Act allows, and if the reply is late, refused or incomplete the applicant goes in first appeal to the appellate authority and then to the information commission. The Act also obliges public authorities to publish much of their own information, so it is worth checking what the authority has already put out before you file.
Before you start
- Identify the public authority that actually holds the record - a department, a corporation, a board, a public sector body - rather than the one you think ought to.
- Frame the request precisely: say what record you want, for which period, and about which matter.
- Keep the prescribed fee ready in the mode the authority accepts, and note the fee for copies or inspection if that is what you seek.
- Proof of citizenship or address, where the authority's practice asks for it.
- The application itself, addressed to the public information officer by designation, not by name.
Steps
- Draft the request. Describe the information plainly. You do not have to give a reason for wanting it, and asking for reasons is what turns a good request into a bad one.
- File it with the public information officer. Submit the application to the PIO of the concerned authority, by hand, by post or through the authority's online facility, and pay the prescribed fee. Keep the stamped acknowledgement or the proof of posting.
- Wait for the disposal. The PIO must supply the information or refuse it within the period the Act allows. If the record belongs to another authority, the PIO is to transfer the request to that authority within the time fixed and tell you.
- Read the refusal carefully. A refusal must rest on one of the exemptions in the Act, and the PIO should cite the provision. A refusal that gives no reason is itself a ground of appeal.
- File the first appeal. If there is no reply within the time, or the reply is unsatisfactory, appeal to the first appellate authority of the same authority within the period the Act allows.
- File the second appeal or complaint. If the first appeal fails or is not decided, go to the State or Central Information Commission, as the authority is a state or central body, within the period allowed.
- Press for a penalty, where warranted. The commission may direct disciplinary action against an information officer who refused without reasonable cause or delayed beyond the period the Act allows.
Documents to keep
- The application and its dated acknowledgement or proof of posting.
- The fee receipt.
- The reply or refusal, with the date.
- The first appeal and its acknowledgement, and the order on it.
- The second appeal or complaint filed before the information commission.
What goes wrong
Requests fail for want of precision rather than want of right. Asking why a decision was taken, or for an officer's opinion or a future plan, is not a request for information and is refused. Asking for a bundle of unrelated files in one application invites a plea that it is too wide and burdensome. Filing with an authority that does not hold the record wastes a cycle, and so does omitting the fee or the acknowledgement. An application for information that is already published often draws a reply pointing to the published version. Where an authority does not supply information despite the commission's direction, the route may lie to a writ petition for a mandamus. The Act also carries an overriding public-interest duty on public authorities to publish their own records. For the drafting of the application, the appeals and the follow-on writ, our civil litigation desk and the civil litigation formats are a useful starting point. If the request is refused on a ground that seems unlawful, contact us with the papers.
Common questions
Do I have to give a reason for wanting the information?
No. The Act does not require the applicant to give a reason or to show an interest. A request that volunteers a long reason, or asks the authority to justify something, only gives the PIO a reason to dilate.
What language can I use?
The application may be in English or in the official language of the area. A request in a mixed style is accepted, but keep the description of the record plain and exact.
Can the authority charge for copies?
Yes, on top of the application fee for the copies or inspection sought, at the rate fixed by the rules. A person below the poverty line is not liable for the fee, and delay beyond the period the Act allows makes the information to be given free of charge.
What is not "information" under the Act?
Opinions, advice, internal reasoning and the reasons for a decision are not open to the request. What is open is the record the authority holds. If you want the reasons, ask for the file note or the order, not for the officer's view.
FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, drafts RTI applications, appeals and writ petitions when a public authority stonewalls a request. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us for a free first consultation.